MGR Birthday Celebrations: Superstar Decoded in a Graphic Novel

(This story was originally published on 16 January 2018 and has been reposted from The Quint’s archives on the occasion of MGR’s birth anniversary.)

In the late 1960s, the passenger train from Chennai to Madurai was over 12 hours late. A few miles off Madurai, over 5,000 people had gathered along the tracks, squatting patiently to catch a glimpse of MG Ramachandran, their superstar.

Such a reception was accorded to only one other person in the history of Tamil Nadu – Mahatma Gandhi.